For seniors Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher, this season will decide their NBA futures.

The two guards have able to grow into their roles over the years, playing alongside bigger names like Ryan Anderson, DeVon Hardin and Ayinde Ubaka.

Last year when the pair was complemented with a new coach, a new system and a new opportunity to shine, Randle and Christopher flourished, helping to make Cal basketball relevant.

No longer are they Cal's best-kept secret.

"There's a lot of pressure on Jerome and Pat to be these guys; they'd be great if they could be just as good as they were last year," coach Mike Montgomery said. "Now they're trying to be more, and they have to let the game come to them."

One way that is going to have to happen is from the inside-out.

Recently, Cal-without a low-post threat-has lived and died by the three. Seven-of-24 from behind the arc in the Bears' first round loss in '09 says a lot. This stat from ESPN the Magazine says it all: Last season, "in the Bears' 11 losses, they shot just 33.3 percent from deep; in their wins, 49.3 percent."

Right now, that five spot belongs to the new guy, Markhuri Sanders-Frison, who is only 6-foot-7-ish.

"We're not really very big," Montgomery said. "We just don't have the luxury of having a 6-11 glass-eater."

At 275 pounds, MSF is going to have to make up for his lack of height in strength and hustle. But if MSF can create that diversion inside, then it will make all the difference for his gunners on the out.

Ask Ryan Anderson if having a big man makes it easier for a shooter now that he has Dwight Howard.

Cal needs to utilize MSF on offense as a first option pass-maybe not as a scoring threat-but as different angle to rotate off of. The Bears' offense has a tendency to move away from the basket and looking low early on in the possession can get them better and more open looks going to, or facing the basket.

MSF also has the potential to score in the post, if they get him the ball.

For over the first five minutes on Monday night's game against Murray State, MSF did not touch the ball on offense. And it wasn't until Cal started raining from behind the line in the third that it distanced itself from the Racers.

"We're still working on the low-post stuff," Montgomery said. "The more we learn how (MSF) plays, (we will be able to) trust him a little bit more. I think we need to be able to establish it at the low post."

Having had Jordan Wilkes and Hardin down low in recent years, it could be that the Bears are not used to having a legitimate option in the post. On Monday night, however, MSF played like someone that deserves his teammates' trust and the ball.

In his limited touches, MSF scored six points and had a nice assist inside the lane after drawing multiple defenders.

Two of his six came when the big man cleared his space under the basket and demanded the ball. Once he got it, he took a strong dribble left, sealing off his defender with his frame and gently laid it in with his left. His jumper's not bad either, draining an open shot from the top of the key.

MSF may not be a 30-point-a-game guy or a tremendous shot-blocker, but he hustles like he's Jorge Gutierrez. And on Monday, the big man did the little things right: crushing defenders on picks, rebounding on both ends, diving for a loose ball and shutting down Murray State's center.

So if Cal is going to wear the Pac-10 crown, they'll need to utilize the center.

Tags: CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL